Wonderland
by ownedbyacat
Summary: KenShuu, Prospects AU. Shuuhei, Kensei, a dead laptop and a hot tub equals a little fluffy Ken/Shuu goodness inspired by today's beautiful frosty weather. Oneshot. (Between Ghosts and Yesterday Today Tomorrow)


**Author's Note:**

I like to mix soundtracks for specific jobs and today I finished my work before the soundtrack was done. So I decided to see if I could write a story in the time it took for the music to finish. The prompt was "Winter Wonderland" because of the stunning frozen landscape yesterday's freezing fog produced. (And who could resist Shūhei in a hot tub anyway?)

It's rough and mostly unedited. And for anyone who's really interested in chronology, it takes place after Job Hunt and Ghosts and before House Hunt and Prospects.

* * *

**Wonderland**

The universe was clearly against him tonight, Shūhei decided as his back tyre slid sideways and he had to plant a boot on slippery tarmac to stop himself from laying the bike down. Why else would his favourite laptop start spitting sparks at him when he was staying at Kensei's, whose idea of a computer was a decrepit box barely powerful enough to order takeaway?

Never mind that he stayed at Kensei's house more often than at his own these days, he hadn't moved his equipment over, even though he just didn't feel whole without his laptop within reach. He couldn't do his job, either, which right then was more of an issue. He had promised Dr. Yadomaru that the data would be on her desk first thing Monday morning, and that wouldn't happen unless he got his second-best laptop.

At least it was late, or very early, so traffic was light enough to ignore. The freezing fog on the other hand...

Shūhei slid around yet another corner with one foot close to the tarmac and the back wheel protesting loudly and wondered if he'd be faster if he'd borrowed Kensei's Range Rover. At the very least, the crate had four-wheel drive even if it couldn't match the bike for speed. Or agility.

But Shūhei knew he'd never ask for Kensei's car keys. He knew how to drive, but he was so much more comfortable on a bike that Kensei had even stopped to offer the car whenever Shūhei went out by himself. Most mornings, they now raced each other to work on their bikes – and Shūhei held the record for the fastest run. By quite a way, too.

"Shit!"

A patch of black ice, a traffic light turning green to amber to red and the bike almost went out from under him. _Stop pushing it, idiot! Get home in one piece. _Shūhei slowed and straightened the bike, grateful that nobody had been around to see the near miss. It was embarrassing to be so out of control. And why was he out in this weather anyway? He could easily have stayed at his house and made the return trip in the morning.

Only... he couldn't. He hadn't realised at first how much Kensei was still waiting for him to cut his ties and disappear until he'd driven back to his home in Wimbledon one night after seeing Daniel and Dominic, only to find Kensei in his driveway at daybreak, looking like shit warmed over.

After that, Shūhei canned unplanned excursions. And if he didn't want to wake Kensei by ringing up and owning that he was wimping out on account of the weather, he'd better get back to Richmond in the expected time or at least close to it. Otherwise, there'd be panda cars and ambulances combing the roads. And he couldn't have that.

Shūhei turned off the A3, a bit miffed as always that he couldn't ride through the park at night. It would be so much faster. And fun. And pretty lethal, judging by the streaming tendrils of fog that swirled around him as he rode. _Just be grateful for street lighting and save the fun for warmer weather._

He wasn't at all surprised to see a light in Kensei's bedroom window as he pulled up beside the Range Rover. It was flattering – and vaguely scary – that Kensei seemed so serious and committed after so short a time. And given the mess they'd had to wade through. Shūhei had always thought that he'd be the one who would focus on things like stable and normal and long-term, but he found that he didn't even think about it. Kensei was there and had his back. That was all there was to it.

The light in Kensei's bedroom went out as Shūhei put his key in the lock and Shūhei smiled a little at that as he struggled out of the damp, stiff leathers and pulled off his boots. Nobody had ever waited up for him and Shūhei thought it was cute that Kensei did, whether Kensei wanted to hear that or not.

But even the light in the window couldn't compete with the transformation of the dining room into a cross between hacker station and emergency laptop surgery. Half of the large dining table was covered in a soft cloth and edged with Shūhei's tools. An ESD wrist strap waited on top of the Dell, ready for him to resurrect his favourite toy.

The other half of the dining table had acquired a flat screen, keyboard, mouse and fused extension leads. Very obviously, Kensei was taking no chances on a repeat attempt to burn the house down. Nor did he take chances of Shūhei starving to death or suffering from caffeine withdrawal. A plate of snacks – roast beef sandwiches, triangles of quiche, crisps and pickles – sat alongside a large thermos of strong black coffee.

Shūhei stood dumbstruck in the middle of such largesse – material and emotional both – and debated whether he should rush upstairs and express his gratitude. It would be appropriate. It might also be fun to surprise Kensei that way. Only... with a sigh, Shūhei laced up the laptop, reached for a roast beef sandwich and got to work.

xxXX # XXxx

The smell of brewing coffee brought Shūhei awake and he found that he was sprawled in a heap over the half-dismantled Dell. He rubbed palms over his face, feeling edges and grooves on his cheek that probably matched his laptop's exposed entrails.

"Good thing you don't drool," Kensei said from the doorway. "Not a nice way to go, electrocuted in your sleep. And you'd probably burn the house down, too."

"You're hilarious."

"I'm awesome," Kensei disagreed.

"Only if you come bearing caffeine." Shūhei couldn't muster a better response before the first coffee of the day. But after a few moments of deliberation, he at least struggled upright. A bout of vertigo brought on by too much coffee and too little sleep made him close his eyes and that – predictably – was when Kensei pounced.

A broad shoulder met his midriff; hands clasped his hips and without further ceremony, Shūhei found himself carried out of the dining room, across the hall and to the back door, arms and legs dangling gracelessly. He couldn't remember if he'd been on the way to bed when he'd nodded of or why – precisely – he was only wearing his sweats, but said sweats were close to deserting him under Kensei's ministrations.

"Hey! Cut that out!"

His struggles earned him nothing but a hard swat to his butt and a firmer grip across the backs of his knees. And then they were outside and freezing cold air stung his bare skin.

"Kensei! Are you nuts? Get back inside, it's freezing!"

"Quit waking the neighbours," Kensei grunted in reply but otherwise ignored the man slung over his shoulder. "It's too damn early for most of them to appreciate."

The crazy goon stalked across the lawn – Shūhei could see Kensei's bare feet on frost-covered grass. The idiot wasn't even wearing shoes! – and Shūhei gripped the back of Kensei's pyjama pants and contemplated revenge. He was so getting Kensei back for this!

He was just refining the pain and torture parts of his plan when Kensei stopped his march across the freezing garden and unceremoniously heaved Shūhei into the hot tub. He went in arse first, straight to the bottom, and landed with a thump.

Shūhei sputtered once he'd struggled to vertical and cleared the water from his eyes and nose. Most of his ire was gone. The water was hot and steaming – Kensei had obviously turned the thermostat up the previous night – and Shūhei loved the contrast of hot water against his skin and freezing cold air on his face.

"You are completely off your gourd, you know that?" he said affectionately.

"Nah. I'm awesome."

And with that, Kensei reached down and presented Shūhei with a huge mug of steaming black coffee. The term 'mug' was a clear misnomer. This receptacle / bucket / pail – bright pink, curvy and covered in tiny white clouds – was one of the few items Shūhei had relocated from his home to Kensei's house. It could hold almost a litre of liquid and Kensei faithfully filled it with strong, black coffee every morning Shūhei woke there.

"Still don't understand how you don't bounce off the walls after ingesting that much caffeine – but hey – if it makes you happy?"

The comment had a beard and Shūhei no longer minded or explained. "Very happy," he said instead. "I'd be even happier if you'd joined me in the tub. Wasn't that the point of the whole exercise?"

"Not at all." Kensei's voice was stern, but he easily flanked the edge of the tub and settled down in the hot water, reaching for his own mug of tea – large but much more sensibly proportioned – that he'd set on the rim of the tub. "By the way, your decryption finished somewhere around 6am. I started the verification."

"You what?" Shūhei almost spat his coffee into the tub, but Kensei just shrugged.

"That's what you do every time a decryption finishes. Thought it was standard procedure."

"It is, but..."

"You thought the old man had no computer skills. Think again, brat. Just because I don't like to, doesn't mean I don't know how."

"Yeah, I remember that..."

"You'd better. Now lean back, shut up and enjoy."

"Enjoy what... precisely?" Shūhei packed the maximum amount of confusion he could muster into his voice. Sure, the hot water was nice, but...

Kensei rolled his eyes and his face showed nothing but pity for Shūhei's cluelessness."Don't you have eyes, brat? How many times a year do you get to see... this?"

Shūhei realised that he had been so focussed on Kensei and the hot tub, he had not even raised his eyes far enough to look around the garden. As soon as he did, he got Kensei's point. The lush garden was a winter wonderland. Every branch, twig and needle covered in crystalline white – serene and alien, both, and enticing in a way Shūhei had never considered before.

Shūhei shifted until he was right beside the man whose hair rivalled the colour of the trees just then. They lazed in the steaming waters, at peace with the world and each other, until a watery sun rose high enough to turn the world of white into a world of sparkling rainbows.


End file.
